How is climate change altering the Arctic environment?
A. As ice cover in the Arctic melts faster than scientists had predicted, the potential for disaster becomes a near-certainty. The effects of climate change in the Arctic—melting sea ice, warming temperatures, rising sea level, and increasing ocean acidity—will very likely cause major physical, ecological, sociological, and economic impacts. Already, families in small coastal villages have been forced to abandon their homes, the sea ice and permafrost literally melting out from under them. Their ocean- and ice-based cultures, once thought timeless, are running out of time. The clock ticks, as well, for ice-dependent marine mammals like polar bears. Projections show that by the middle of the century, two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will likely be gone, and the US population will be lost. Q. What do the changes in the Arctic mean for commercial businesses? A. The retreat of sea ice has exposed the Arctic to increased interest in industrial-scale exploitation. Less ice means more op
